xi's moments
Home | Film & TV

Earn to learn

By Xing Wen | China Daily | Updated: 2021-04-21 07:50

Director Tao Tao (right) and his crew member Yuan Jing (left) interview the daughter of a Chinese student who joined a work-study program in France more than a century ago during the filming of the documentary Les Annees en France. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The transformation of those who returned can be inspiring for today's young people, he says. "I hope their stories encourage younger generations to pay less attention to material life and shoulder more responsibility in China's rejuvenation."

To attempt a vivid re-creation, the documentary team traveled to Paris, Normandy, Lille, Lyon and other parts of France, visiting archives, schools, universities, museums and historical sites. Valuable records, including lists of registered students, such as Zhou, Deng and Nie, and recordings of an interview with Xiao San, a Chinese student who traveled from Hebei province to Montargis for higher education, are shown in the documentary.

The production team interviewed more than 30 offspring of the program's participants to gather their personal memories and views on what their forebears experienced during their time in France, before searching for ways to save their homeland.

Tao says that these personal perspectives provide a broader picture of the past.

"Their emotional expressions give a warm touch to the history and generate empathy among viewers," he says.

Chi Jianxin, the documentary's producer, says: "We try to reproduce the spirit of that age and evoke memories of yesteryear by portraying images of the Chinese students. It makes us understand from where we have come, and the direction we should go."

Tao says his team will work on a follow-up documentary. They will present more stories that reveal the twists and turns in the lives of these Chinese pioneers by collaborating with research institutions and museums that were built in commemoration of the work-study program.

|<< Previous 1 2 3   
Global Edition
BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349